first hard cheese gone awry

[mattmika]

I attempted to make my first hard cheese following the instructions from David B. Fankhauser (http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Cheese98.htm) for basic hard cheese.

Heres how it went:
1) Buttermilk starter sat room temp for 24hrs. It didnt seem thicken much but did smell more acidic.
2) Add 3tsp. buttermilk starter to 68F milk and let sit overnight. I was unable to get back to the milk for about 20hrs. to complete next step.
3) Warm milk to 86F and add 1/4 tsp. liquid rennet. After one hour no clean break, wait another hour. No clean break, add 1/4 tsp rennet, still no clean break in morning. The animal rennet I used was never opened, stored in the refrigerator and approx. 10 months from purchase.

I now have a gallon of milk that is mild buttermilk the cosistency of thin yogurt. Any ideas where I went wrong. Im guessing I over acidified the milk or my rennet is not good.

Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated, thanks.
Matt

[mightyjesse]

If your milk clabbered (got thicker) before you added the rennet, it will never make curds. I have read this most places. I think you left it too long before adding the rennet.

[shoelessone]

Yes, I would bet the milk may have been to acidic to get a clean break.  I really like frankhouser, but I have to say sometimes I find his instructions a bit difficult to interpret.  I was never sure if "overnight" meant 4 hours, 5 hours, 8 hours, 10 hours, or if it just didn't matter.

Also, I'd really check your rennet.  I'm not sure the brand/type you used, but I know at least some animal rennets loose their potency after 6 months.  Just for the sake of experimentation you might try using a different rennet, such as Junket tablets which can be found at places like walmart (in the ice cream topping area normally).

Good luck!

[MrsKK]

When following Fankhauser's recipe for the first time, I wrapped the pot in a towel, as my house gets quite cold.  The next morning, I had a five gallon pot of a yogurt-like substance, as well.  I drained it off (through a cheesecloth), salted it and used it as cream cheese.  I froze a lot of it up in 2-cup containers, though, because I never could have used it up fast enough to keep it from going bad otherwise.

[timnbama]

His 5 gallon batch instructions states not to let it sit for over 8 hours and not to have it at a temp over 70F. Those instructions aren't on the 1 gal batch. I've made that cheese a few times and it worked so it might be your rennet.

[DeejayDebi]

It didnt seem thicken much but did smell more acidic.

I am guessing the buttermilk or the rennet could have been the culpret. My buttermilk is usually like yogurt by morning. Did you get a clean break?